Date:  October 19,2010

Title: 4 Different Futures Are Imagined For Research Libraries

Created by Jennifer Howard

Source:  The Chronicle of Higher Education

Download Article: 4 Very Different Futures Are Imagined For Research Libraries

Here is an excerpt from this article:

Research is moving online, and more and more users have moved away from thinking of the research library as the gateway to it. In the brave new digital world, librarians have to figure out new ways to engage with communities whose interest they used to be able to take for granted.

It’s difficult to determine how to revamp what you do and position your institution for long-term survival if you have no idea what kind of future you’ll have to operate in. So the Association of Research Libraries prepared four scenarios that describe what the research environment might look like in 2030. Previewed at the group’s annual meeting last week in Washington, D.C., those scenarios are being made public today.

The four story lines do not try to lay out what libraries themselves will need to do to be relevant 20 years from now. Instead they seek to describe the broader research environment in which libraries’ “future users” might be operating. Libraries are encouraged to imagine how they might fit into that environment, said Karla Strieb, the association’s assistant executive director for transforming research libraries. The scenarios come with a long user’s guide and are meant to be used in a variety of ways, said Ms. Strieb. Those include organizing workshops and strategic-planning sessions along with more free-form exercises— “stretching your thinking and looking at the future differently,” she said, and “understanding the dynamics that are playing out around us.”

The elements that make up the scenarios came out of a two-day workshop involving 30 representatives from the library association’s North American membership. Most were library directors, along with a couple of what she calls “provocateurs” who specialize in technology and culture. A strategic-consulting specialist helped guide the process.

Date:  September 2010

Title:  Value of Academic Libraries: A Comprehensive Research Review and Report

Source:  American Library Association; Association of College and Research Libraries

Created by Dr. Megan Oakleaf, Syracuse University for the Association of College and Research Libraries.

Found Online:  ACRL Value of Academic Libraries

Download Paper: The Value of Academic Libraries

Here is an excerpt from the executive summary from Dr. Megan Oakleaf:

Academic libraries have long enjoyed their status as the “heart of the university.”

However, in recent decades, higher education environments have changed.

Government officials see higher education as a national resource. Employers view

higher education institutions as producers of a commodity—student learning. Top

academic faculty expect higher education institutions to support and promote cuttingedge

research. Parents and students expect higher education to enhance students’

collegiate experience, as well as propel their career placement and earning potential.

Not only do stakeholders count on higher education institutions to achieve these goals,

they also require them to demonstrate evidence that they have achieved them. The

same is true for academic libraries; they too can provide evidence of their value.

Community college, college, and university librarians no longer can rely on their

stakeholders’ belief in their importance. Rather, they must demonstrate their value.

Source:  Lammhults Library Design

Link:  Politikens Hus

Recent installation of BCI 60/30 (Classic Steel) Shelving.

I would like to thank the marketing department at Lammhults Library Design for the video below.

Raufoss Public Library in Norway YouTube Link

Title:  12 Major Trends in Library Design

Author:  Thomas Sens, Architect

Source:  LibraryWorks (12 Major Trends in Library Design)

Here is an excerpt from this article:

Many academic planners assumed that the coming of the Internet would lead to the decline of the library as we know it. To the contrary, many academic libraries have experienced significantly increased patron use in recent years.

One reason for this phenomenon is that today’s college students have heightened expectations and demands for academic libraries based on new approaches to learning. While the Internet can provide 24/7 access to information, it can also isolate learners. In contrast, the new academic library model provides a forum for students to collaborate, enjoy fellowship, engage in healthy debate, create and challenge ideas, and experience learning and discovery in a multitude of meaningful ways. The following 12 trends define how the library has evolved to maintain its essential position within the academic landscape.

1 Envision the library as place.

As Geoffrey Freeman noted in The Library as Place: Rethinking Roles, Rethinking Space, academic libraries are no longer simply a location to collect and organize print resources. They have become an integral part of a university’s learning culture and academics.

Today’s libraries serve four key functions, in addition to their traditional role of housing printed materials. First, they are a locus for collaboration. As pedagogy shifts and learning becomes more team oriented and less individualistic, there is a new demand for collaboration space for students. Having a place to come together is critical to student success and the full utilization of the library as a learning space. Spaces where students can openly discuss and debate without having to keep their voices down are the new norm.

Second, while providing collaborative space is critical, there is also a need for individual, contemplative space—not the long library tables of the past, but rather a variety of spaces to suit the individual needs and learning styles of today’s students. Private, traditional study carrels suit some students, while comfortable lounge furniture is ideal for others. A blend of formal and informal spaces can create environments where all students can have their needs met. Of course, sound control is critical to the coexistence of lively, sometimes loud, areas with these more quiet spaces.

The third function of libraries is to provide a home for services, such as writing, communication, and tutoring centers, advanced lab spaces, and other specialty spaces.

And last, libraries must continue to provide both traditional research and technical services while also providing the latest in computer technology and associated technology support services.

Original Post From Library Works:  LibraryWorks; Library Resources Group, Inc.

Website Link:  Best Practices: Public Library Design (Overview) 

Source:  The Whole Building Design (www.wbdg.org)

LibraryWorks is website devoted to libraries and issues involving libraries. Recently the online publication emailed a series of articles covering library design and best practices.  I have shared the link above for those that would like to read the article in it’s entirety and below is a brief excerpt:

Public libraries can be differentiated from academic, school, and special libraries because they function to serve the needs of a diverse service population including small children, students, professionals, and the elderly. In contrast, academic libraries serve college and university faculty and students; school libraries serve elementary, middle, and high school students and faculty; and special libraries (such as Presidential Libraries) serve scholars and experts within narrowly defined fields.

Although public libraries serve the public at large, including those who are also served by other types of libraries, they are used primarily by members of the local community in which they are constructed and secondarily by members in communities in immediately outlying areas. The members of those communities are the service population of public libraries and their needs affect the design and planning of public library spaces. For example, if a community has a large population of young children, which can result from a community with a high-quality elementary school system, the public library design must address the needs of children and how they use libraries, i.e., story-telling spaces, books within easy reach for children, nap areas, etc. Whereas, a public library that serves the needs of a community with a large population of elderly people will included design criteria to meet their needs, i.e., easy access into the building, adequate lighting, large-print media, etc.

BUILDING ATTRIBUTES

A. Types of Spaces

1. There are seven broad types of public library space:
2. Collection space (including public electronic workstation space)
3. User seating space
4. Staff work space
5. Meeting space
6. Special use space
7. Non-assignable space (including mechanical space)

Careful analysis of the following will allow designers to determine the space needs for the seven general spaces listed above, which are common to public libraries:

• Identification of the library’s population of users
• Estimation of the collections provided by the library and the space needed to accommodate those provisions to meet the future needs of its users
• Estimation of floor space needed to accommodate seating areas
• Estimation of floor space needed by staff
• Estimation of floor space needed for meeting rooms
• Estimation of miscellaneous public- and staff-use space (special use space)
• Estimation of space needed for entry halls, mechanical rooms, bathrooms, etc. (non-assignable space).